This house is one of several surviving employee housing units of the Dixie Mill textile village in LaGrange. While it has been identified as a “saltbox” in architectural surveys, Scott Reed points out that these are not truly saltboxes, and referred me to John Linley’s term: spraddle-roof. The form was used throughout the neighborhood. Dixie Mill, established in the late 1890s, was the first of many modern textile operations that would dominate LaGrange’s economy throughout most of the 20th century.
This Greek Revival cottage was built by Sylvanus Bates circa 1849, who was principal of LaGrange High School at the time. The school was located across the street and the central hallway of the residence was used for academic assemblies. Colonel John L. Stephens, brother of Confederate vice-president Alexander H. Stephens was a later resident, as were the Jarrell brothers. Admiral Albert E. Jarrell helped negotiate the end of the Korean War. His brother, Captain Henry Jarrell, was the American attache to Chiang Ki Shek and Francisco Franco. From 1958-1989, the house was used for services the Christian Science Society. It is presently a gift shop.*
*-Much of the information on homes in LaGrange and Troup County comes from the excellent book, Travels through Troup County: A Guide to its Architecture and History (Troup County Historical Society, 1996). John Lawrence’s excellent photographs combined with Julie Turner’s research make for a great local architectural survey. Every county should be so lucky as to have such a guide at their disposal. The very affordable book can be purchased from the Troup County Archives.
Representative of the transformation from Federal and Plantation Plain styles to the more formal Greek Revival, Nutwood is one of six extant homes designed and built by Collin (sometimes spelled Cullin or Cullen) Rogers (1791-1845) and his brother Henry. Just as Daniel Pratt’s houses are emblematic of Milledgeville, Rogers’s designs are icons of LaGrange. Nutwood is considered the most accomplished of his works. It should be noted that Rogers and his brother utilized a large number of enslaved people with great skills in carpentry to build their commissions.
Joel D. Newsom (1789-1864) was the first owner of the property and legend states that the plantation house derived its name from the fact that the first pecan tree grown in Troup County was planted here. Newsom served as judge of the Troup County Inferior Court from 1831-36. In 1937, it was purchased by Mr. & Mrs. Arthur E. Mallory who owned it until the 1970s.
I had a nice talk with the son of this home’s owner, whom he noted had lived in Mountville all her life and grew up in the Queen Anne pictured in the previous post.
